When I pulled up to my favorite restaurant last night, I noticed a sign on the door, "We, like many other restaurants, will not be serving fresh tomatoes due to the salmonella outbreak." Now, I have heard about the outbreak in the news, but hadn't realized its scope until I got my favorite entrée sans tomatoes.
Since mid-April there have been nearly 150 cases of salmonellosis, a rare type of Salmonella Saintpaul posioning, linked to raw red plum, red Roma and/or round red tomatoes (according to the FDA, grape and cherry tomatoes as well as those still attached to the vine are still safe to eat). At least 23 have been hospitalized and illnesses have been reported across 17 states, making this the biggest food scare since the tainted spinach fiasco of '06. The source of the tomato contamination has yet to be identified.
In the wake of the FDA warning, restaurants and supermarkets across the country are pulling the summer staple trying to ensure the safety of their customers.
If you have any of these tomatoes at home, best advice is to toss them in the trash or take them back to the place where you purchased them. Salmonella is passed when human or animal fecal matter comes in contact with food. In case that visual isn't gross enough, the severe, flu-like symptoms that follow are enough to keep anyone away from these types of tomatoes. But, if you decide to go against the FDA's advice and all conventional wisdom by eating the tainted treats, remember to wash them thoroughly, remove the part that is attached to the plant and the button on the other side and cook them at a minimum of 145 degrees. No matter how much of a daredevil you are, don't try to eat them raw- its just not safe.
This latest breakdown of safety in our nation's food chain should serve as a good reminder to remain vigilant when dealing with food. Properly cooking meat, poultry and eggs, and washing produce are generally the best methods to prevent illness. Keep your hands and kitchen surfaces clean to prevent cross-contamination.
If even after you take these precautions, you get sick- report the illness to the FDA. This is a very important step to identifying the source of the sickness and preventing others from falling ill.
According to an article from the Associated Press, when Big Pharma has a job opening- the first place they look is the FDA.
The former stewards of public health are extremely valuable to drug companies, because of their crucial experience. But what is good for Big Pharma is not always good for America.
With the FDA coming under fire just about every week now and paychecks that pale in comparison to what the world's largest drug-makers can provide, some of the agency's top scientists are leaving for greener pastures.
The problem? The FDA is already stretched thin with the departure of many Baby-Boomers and increased competition for science graduates. Now that other top-level personnel are jumping ship to Big Pharma, the FDA is left with a leaner, less experienced and less-confident staff, and tasking them with keeping America safe. The scenario has been dubbed the "FDA brain drain."
Steve Brozak, an analyst with WBB Securities, told the AP, "What you have now is a big sucking sound of these staffers leaving FDA and going into the more lucrative side of the business or packing it in and retiring entirely. This cannot have any positive effect whatsoever."
This is leaving the leadership of the agency scrambling to find bodies to fill the vacancies.
Those left behind are less confident about putting new drugs onto the market in light of more recent fiascoes like tainted heparin and Vioxx. And the dwindling numbers also mean that increase of the much-needed food and drug manufactures inspections are little more than a hoop dream.
Actor Dennis Quaid testified before Congress yesterday about the terrifying ordeal that nearly killed his newborn twins last year. The infants were given an accidental overdose of the blood-thinning drug, Heparin (shortly thereafter, the drug made additional headlines when tainted batches from China killed dozens).
He and his wife are suing Baxter International, the maker of the drug, as they believe confusing labeling on the bottle caused the mix-up. They also argued that the drug should have been recalled after three other infants died, also of accidental overdoses. Baxter cited preemption in their motion to dismiss the Quaid's lawsuit.
Before Congress, he urged lawmakers to protect the rights of average citizens, saying " I believe that if preemption of lawsuits is allowed to prevail, it will basically make all of us, the public, uniformed and uncompensated lab rats."
Here's some video of Quaid talking preventive medical negligence-
The FDA, under the Bush Administration, has advocated the preemption of lawsuits. FDA Deputy Commissioner Randall Lutter said, "[The] FDA believes that the important decisions it makes about the safety, efficacy and labeling of medical products should not by second-guessed by state courts."
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, disagreed, saying, "One of the most powerful incentives for safety - the threat of liability - would vanish."
May is still a young month, but we've already seen a rash of recalls on everything from SUVs to meat.
This weekend Toyota announced a 90,000 car recall of their popular Highlander SUV. The vehicle was recalled so that the automaker can repair a defect in a third-row seatbelt. This affects all gasoline and hybrid models of the SUV and includes all vehicles produced between May 2007 and March 2008.
The Consumer Products Safety Comission has announced three recalls so far this month. In cooperation with QVC, the agency recalled SoleusAir Space Heaters which sold in QVC's Studio employee and retail stores from December 2007 through March 2008 for between $65 and $80. The unit poses the danger of overheating. QVC reported 9 incidents of flames shooting out of the 1500 watt unit, and 70 additional reports of it smoking, overheating, sparking, melting, and/or emitting burning odors.
The CPSC also announced the recall of a Children's Storage Bin sold at Lowe's. The bin was recalled due to a violation of the lead paint standard, which is potentially harmful to children. The recalled bins are wooden with scalloped edges, came with the item numbers 226782 (green storage bin) or 226781 (pink storage bin). They were sold nationwide at Lowe's between March 2007 and February 2008.
Just this morning the CSPS announced its third recall of the month, for 4,800 Broil King Gas Grills. The grills were recalled because the bottom of the cook box can melt or crack as a result of a grease fire, posing a serious burn hazard to users.
In other recall news, the Queens, NY-based Gourmet Boutique voluntarily recalled more than 30 fresh and frozen food items that had been sent to food service and retail establishments nationwide due to the presence of Listeria.
The products included chicken salad, sandwiches, frozen wraps and burritos sold under the names Gourmet Boutique, Jan's and Archer Farms.
Target, which sells Archer Farms brand food items, announced the affected products were only sold in SuperTarget locations.
The contaminated fresh items were produced between April 19 and 24, 2008, and the frozen items were produced between Oct. 23, 2007 and April 23, 2008. Read more here.
According to a House committee report, since 2001, almost half all the nation's spinach-packing facilities had "serious" sanitation issues; however, the FDA failed to make "meaningful" actions to address the violations. Read the government report here.
FDA inspections noted that 67 facilities lacked adequate restroom sanitation, had piles of garbage and potentially hazardous indoor condensation issues. Reports have shown some buildings were found to be vulnerable to rodent infestation and facility-workers displayed poor hygiene and went without hairnets and other sanitary garb.
Since 1995, there have been 20 serious outbreaks of E.Coli linked with tainted spinach and lettuce. One of the most notable was the 2006 poison spinach scandal that sickened hundreds and killed three. The outbreak was linked to a supplier for California's Natural Selection Foods. It is believed waste from cows and/or feral pigs contaminated the spinach crop. However, years before this outbreak, the FDA identified problems with several Natural Selection facilities. According to the authors of the House report, the "FDA at no time required the firm to correct these conditions at any of its facilities, even after laboratory tests indicated the presence of microbial contamination at the exact site later implicated in the 2006 outbreak."
Shortly after the episode, FDA officials admitted to lapses in food safety efforts. The House report revealed that Natural Selection facilities and other problem factories were being inspected every 2.4 years, rather than annually as required by federal guidelines.
Despite the identification of serious safety violations, the FDA did not report any of the problem facilities to its internal enforce authorities, and failed to take any serious efforts in correcting the potentially life-threatening problems. Authors of the House Committee report explained their investigation raised "serious questions about the ability of FDA to protect the safety of fresh spinach and other fresh produce."
FDA spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said in an e-mail that "despite recent concerns, the food supply in the U.S. continues to be one of the safest in the world and this includes fresh produce." I wonder if she still eats bagged spinach.
The Western Rider push toy, made by Santa's Toy Corp of Los Angeles, was recalled yesterday. I guess Santa's helpers at his Chinese manufactoring plant thought they could cut some corners by using lead paint.
The toy, pictured here, sold at dollar and discount stores nationwide February 2005 through February 2008. It sold for between $2.50 and $3.
If your child has this toy, remove it immediately and seek a full refund from your point of purchase. For more information on the recall contact Santa's Toy Corp. toll-free at (888) 726-8208 or e-mail them. The Push Action Western Rider toy set includes a plastic horse with rider and a 20-inch long handle. The rider is wearing red pants and a green shirt, and his horse comes in various colors. The lead violation pertains to surface paint used on the rider's gloves, shirt and pants.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission along with the Huston firm, FUNTASTIC, are recalling 26,000 "Hillbilly Teeth" due to a violation of lead standard. To me, this seems extremely troublesome as these lead-riddled toys were specifically designed to go in kids' mouths.
The Chinese-made toys (surprise, surprise) were sold at grocery, drug and convenience stores as well as mass retailers from March 2005 through March 2008. They sold in a 2-pack with item # 2657for about $2.
Caregivers, please keep these dangerous toys away from your children and return them to the store of purchase for a refund.
For more information, call FUNTASTIC at (800) 434-5207 or visit the company's Web site.
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